Chapter 1301: I Know That Song

Chapter 1301: I Know That Song

The eggs weren't destroyed! Whoo! Regardless of what I might think of the Krath (it isn't good), I didn't want to see a bunch of eggs get roasted by the purification process.

They were definitely changed, though. No longer black, they were... lighter. Not quite white, more like a... a sombre sort of grey. Reaching out with my senses, I could tell that the life present within them was still there, if perhaps a little muted from what it had been before.

When the rest of the Colony came down to join me, I was quick to point out to Solant, Tungstant and the others just what I'd found.

"This is... unexpected," Solant mused, for once not having foreseen the issue. "I would never have imagined that Krath, even unhatched, would be able to survive the purification process."

"More than that, they may not even be monsters," I point out. "They were clearly farming and growing food down here. Mould and meat, it looks like."

Tungstant appears quite perturbed by this revelation.

"If they aren't monsters, how on Pangera were they able to survive down here? The fifth is... such a unique biome, I can't imagine something being able to live here without specifically being born to this place."

Solant has an answer for that.

"There are legends that the fifth wasn't always like this. That it was corrupted by one of the Ancients. None of the stories agree on which one. Morribolg, perhaps, or Theorazzn. Perhaps even Yolesh. Only the sophos have a history of the Dungeon that goes back that far, and even they aren't sure."

"Wait, you spoke to the sophos? About the fifth?" I break in.

Solant flicks an antenna dismissively.

Although... that would mean I'd have to stay in the blue mana, and the Colony couldn't send me out here like this. I prod one leg into my carapace suspiciously.

Were you really a curse all along, Vestibule? Now, at this time, you choose to betray me?

I'm knocked out of my reflection by a slight tingle in my antennae. It's so faint I almost miss it, but I'm so hyper-sensitive out here that I refuse to allow even the tiniest hint of sensory information to escape my notice.

The moment I try to chase that hint down, I'm immediately puzzled. What in the name of heck is that? For a while, I'm not even sure what sense is talking to me, but eventually I figure out it's my gravitation antennae mutation. There's something producing very fine, very delicate vibrations. I'm almost tempted to dismiss it, but the more I think, waving my antennae back and forth, I can't help but feel I've sensed this same feeling before.

Like... a lot, but I've never really paid attention to it much, given how quiet it was compared to everything else.

The more I quietly sit, ignoring the smoke coming off my eyeballs, the more confident I become. I've definitely felt that before, and I know exactly what it is.

Sneaky, sneaky. Thought you could hide from me? Impossible! Determined, I begin to head toward the strange feeling, then hesitate. I have a mission, I'm on a timer. Do I really have the time to be chasing this down?

After a moment, I throw my doubts aside. I have time, I'm ahead of schedule, and this could turn out to be important. I mean, it could turn out to be nothing at all, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?

Settled in my mind, I change my heading and start moving toward the unsettling yet familiar vibrations.

You're going to have to talk to me this time.